Containers are big right now. So big that we talk about them for at least a few minutes on almost every podcast. But rarely do we have a guest with the depth of knowledge about them and unbridled enthusiasm for them that Rackspace product architect Mike Metral has. As the featured guest of OpenStack Podcast #21, Mike goes deep on the subject, discussing things like: What are containers really for? Who are they for? Should they be integrated with OpenStack? Which industries are ready for them, and what obstacles to adoption exist for the industries that are not? He also talked about:

How he got involved in OpenStack

What he worked on at Sandia Labs

Why he started Corekube

Where Kubernetes came from and what problem it’s meant to solve

Whether or not vendor lock-in is really an issue for OpenStack users

Eating cotton candy and french fries in the old Versace mansion

You can follow the podcast and see the past and future guest schedule at @openstackpod and follow Mike Metral at @mikemetral.

From days of setting up internet in his dorm and almost being kicked out of college for it, Joe Arnold’s tech roots are strong, and his passion is contagious. In the latest OpenStack Podcast, join the founder and CEO of SwiftStack as he discusses:

Symantec’s Director of Cloud Platform Engineering, Yuriy Brodskiy, was a really interesting interview–not only because he was a very early adopter of OpenStack in his PayPal days, but also because he now works for one of the pioneers in software security. He gave us some surprising insights into how his company views open source in general and OpenStack in particular, as well as what they’re doing to make the cloud more secure. He also discussed:

How cloud changes the culture of an organization

How OpenStack changed perceptions of open source software

The upside (and downside) of rolling your own distro

The future of PaaS and containers

What Symantec is doing with OpenStack

What to consider in order to create a truly secure OpenStack environment

The OpenStack Summit is happening from May 18-22nd in Vancouver, with sessions submitted and chosen for the community, by the community!

What interests you when it comes to OpenStack? Do you need a deep dive in a particular project? Are you wondering if the economics make sense? Are you trying to figure out how to create a product or service based on or powered by OpenStack?

In the OpenStack community, the members drive the agenda. If you’re a Foundation member—and especially if you’re attending—step up! It’s time to vote for speakers for the Vancouver Summit! The polls opened last week, but they’re closing soon: on 2/23 at 5:00 PM Central time.

This handy link will take you to the main Foundation voting page, where you can see ALL of the sessions that have been proposed. If you’d like to avoid sifting through the 1,000+ submissions there though, check out the links below. They will take you straight to the talks submitted by my clever colleagues at Cisco, who are some of the most skilled OpenStack pros on the planet. (#justsayin)

Do you have a talk we should know about? Leave it in the comments or tweet me @aliamagasu.

She’s an inventor, she’s a mom, she’s a VP at IBM…Jessica Murillo does it all. She’s not only a role model for women in technology, she’s a role model for anyone in technology. With dozens of patents, years of experience, and a strong vision of the tech trends that will impact business over the next several years, she is someone worth listening to. I interviewed her last week for OpenStack Podcast #18, and got her thoughts on:

Why tech needs women

Why IBM is so interested in OpenStack

OpenStack’s growth and momentum compared to Linux

The power of the OpenStack Summits

How she manages to raise a family while building such an impressive career

Why it’s important to ask for help and build a strong personal as well as professional support community

Why more girls don’t gravitate toward science, math, and engineering, and what we can do to change that

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